Wishing on Roses
by Eialyne
Summary: An AU fic based on the story of Aladdin. Kudo Shinichi is a young man of ancient Japan who's fallen on hard times. However, when he comes across a rose that houses a spirt that can make people's wishes come true, he finds himself drawn into larger events.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: They won't be showing up until the first chapter, but I don't own the characters of Detective Conan and Kaitou KID. Those rights belong to Aoyama Gosho.

**_Wishing on Roses_****  
**

**Prolouge **

Roses have long been considered symbols of love and magic, but despite the air of romance and mystery that surrounds them, they still are ordinary objects, plants that live and die as any other normal plant does. Although, there is a chance of being plucked by a young man eager to win the heart of a young woman.

But even then, they are still just common, ordinary flowers.

However, there is one expectation…one special rose that existed centuries ago in ancient Japan.

Yes, I know roses aren't native to ancient Japan.

I said it wasn't an ordinary rose, didn't I?

This special bloom is said to house a minor demi-god, capable of bringing happiness to those around it. A few tales insist that it is in fact a demon which causes chaos when released.

In truth, it contains only a simple spirit, capable of acquiring anything the rose's own wishes.

Over the ages, normal people have used it to fulfill their dreams and wants. Whether this made them happy or not, it doesn't matter…those stories aren't important.

The story we do wish to focus on, however, is that of the rose's owner during the end of Japan's Feudal Era: a young man who only wished for happiness and love, but instead found himself to be a player in large events to come…

* * *

Author's Note: Yes...very short, and I can promise you the actual chapters won't be as short. Think of this as a teaser trailer for the actual fic.  



	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: All Detective Conan characters belong to Gosho Aoyama.

**Author's note**: whaps hand...I know I posted the prolouge a while back, promising that the first chapter would soon follow...but...umm... ;; blame school as well as some issues with making sure Shinichi was as IC as possible. Thankfully being forced to play him in an rpg with Fyl solved that...I hope...anyhow, I'm hoping updates won't take as long as this one did, and enjoy!

Chapter One

Kudo Shinichi was having a very bad day. Passersby could tell by the fact he was currently picking himself out of the mud.

But that was only a small portion of the past several hours.

He had decided to stay at Agasa's place since it would be closer than if he had stayed in one of the small farms outside the city. Unfortunately, that meant three, usually pestering, guests: Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko. They had kept Shinichi up almost to the wee hours of the morning, not to mention Mitsuhiko and Genta had finally managed to sneak off with his katana. Shinichi didn't notice until he woke up the next morning and had to waste precious time tracking them down (it was easy, but there wasn't much time to spare) to retrieve it.

Luck did happen to be with him in that he made it to the training grounds with seconds to spare, but it disappeared soon after that.

"Pft…a bunch of lazy slobs showing up this year it seems," a loud voice called out from the front of the small group of hopeful recruits.

Shinichi cringed. _Why today? Of all days, it just had to be today that Mouri is in charge of recruiting…_

Mouri Kogoro was the guard's second-in-command, directly under the commander, Megure Jyuzou. Normally he would be in charge of the recruiting, but he was a busy man and the job sometimes fell to Kogoro. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a grudge against Shinichi since, truthfully, the young man's skills were much better than his own, especially when it came to solving crimes the lower-ranking soldiers couldn't resolve.

Scanning the group, Kogoro's eyes narrowed as they landed on the youth. "What are you doing here?"

Shinichi twitched slightly at the man's tone, but he forced himself to be respectful. "I'm here for the same reason as everyone else, Mouri-san. To try and get recruited into the guard."

Kogoro snorted. "And you know you're wasting your time as well as mine. You know the rules. If your parents hadn't abandoned you…"

"They didn't abandon me!"

Kogoro smirked. "Then where are they? And why didn't they wait two more years so their son could keep their lands?"

Shinichi scowled and looked down at his feet. He had no answer to those questions. Four years ago, his parents had suddenly left, saying they were going on a quick trip to one of the islands. However, after they should have reached their destination, Yusaku and Yukiko seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Fourteen year old Shinichi waited for several months, but never heard of or from them after that. After sending a few spies to all the cities on the island, the shogun determined that they had been killed, most likely by bandits en route. Since the youngest a son could inherit his parent's property was 16, the land became the shogun's, which ended up splitting it between the two families on either side. Because of this, Shinichi was left alone and had to depend on himself for survival among the other unfortunates of the city.

When he turned 16, Shinichi decided the best way to turn his life around would be to continue with his dream of being in the guard. Many of the soldiers, who knew him from hanging around the training grounds or randomly showing up to see if he could help with anything, thought he would have been immediately accepted. But they had forgotten about the law that someone without a rank in society couldn't join. Shinichi, family-less, landless, and almost always moneyless, didn't fit that requirement anymore.

Although Commander Megure couldn't rewrite or get rid of the rule, he would still allow Shinichi to go through the tests twice a year to help keep his skills up, or as some would say, show off. Mouri Kogoro on the other hand…

"You also shouldn't yell at your seniors, both in age and rank," the second in command continued. Turning to two of the soldiers that had accompanied him, he instructed, "Show this disrespectful time-wasting idiot to the gate."

The two moved to either side of Shinichi and gave him a little nudge to start moving.

"I'm really sorry about this, Kudo," one of them said. Shinichi recognized him to be Hattori Heiji, a childhood rival.

Shinichi forced a care-free smile onto his face as they headed towards the gate. "Eh, don't worry about it, Hattori. You're just following orders."

When they reached the gate, Shinichi gave them both a nod of farewell. Heiji returned it, but the other simply slammed the gate shut in his face, causing him to topple backwards.

This brings us back to the mud.

"Must be a relative of Mouri's…" he muttered, trying to wipe the muck off his clothes.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of him, offering to help him up. "No…he just figures if he acts like my father, he'll rise up a few ranks," a voice said.

Shinichi slowly looked up at the person in front of him. _Oh gods…I wanted to talk to her again, but not after being humiliated like this…_ He quickly scrambled to his feet and gave a quick, respectful bow. "Good morning, Mouri-san."

Mouri Ran, Kogoro's daughter, dropped her hand when Shinichi didn't use its assistance. She then looked at him curiously. "Have we met before?" she asked.

He felt his shoulders slump slightly. _She doesn't remember? Well…it was a long time ago…_ "I once-" he started, but Ran interrupted him

"You must have shown up at other recruitments," she decided, "That would also explain my father being annoyed at you…he thinks people are wasting time if they don't give up right away."

Shinichi couldn't help but blink at her curiously. "You've been at the recruitments? How come I don't remember seeing you? And when I last checked, women weren't' allowed inside the training grounds."

Ran gave him a cunning grin. "Something tells me you won't go running off to report anything to my father, so I think I'll be safe telling you." She pointed down the wall a little ways to an old, gnarled tree that grew against and somewhat over the top of the wall. "There's a very nice view up there."

_Clever as well as beautiful_, Shinichi found himself thinking as he stared at her in admiration. He might have expected this from a poor girl with street smarts, but a noble lady?

She gave him an odd, almost curious look. "Are you alright? You haven't blinked once since we met."

"Oh…I…" he was spared the need to come up with an excuse as a young man bumped into Ran. The stranger mumbled a quick apology and started to hurry off.

However, eyes that were now used to the everyday commoner life saw what had really happened, and Shinichi was about to grab the man and demand Ran's money bag back. But before he could even take a step forward, one of Ran's fists flashed out and hit the man dead center in the back. He fell face forward into the dirt, the small bag dropping from his hand.

"And that's why it's nice to hang around the guard," Ran said calmly, picking her money back up and retying it to her belt.

Shinichi was simply staring at her, frozen to where he stood and slack-jawed. _She's probably better at that than at least half, wait…maybe more than half of the guard…_

Ran was able to figure out why he was starring this time. "I'm sorry…I know women aren't supposed to act like that…you must think I'm unnatural…" Without waiting for an answer, she glanced at the sky and then gave a quick bow, "My mother should be expecting me home soon...I should be going." Before Shinichi could stop her, she disappeared into the crowd.

He sighed, staring after the direction she'd run off in. "I'm going to remember that moment forever.." He told himself, knowing how unlikely it was that he would be able to talk to her again.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Charries don't belong to me, so sorry Fyl, can't give them to you.

**A/N:** I've had someone ask what time period this is supposed to take place in. Well...in all honesty, I can't really answer that ;; There's going to be a mishmash of various things from different time periods, but nothing after the 19th century, so there isn't really a definite, set time period.

Chapter Two

"I can't believe it," Shinichi moaned, head in his hands. "My one and only chance to talk to her and not only was I just disgraced…I continue to make an idiot of myself…"

After his meeting with Ran had time to completely sink in, along with its timing, Shinichi had bolted back to Agasa's place to let the shock wear off.

"You'll just have to make sure you aren't caught by surprise next time you see her," the older man suggested.

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Weren't you listening? I said this was my only chance to-"

"I'm old, but I'm not going deaf," Agasa interrupted, rummaging through the shelves that held many interesting and foreign items he'd accumulated through his years as a traveling merchant. "You thought the same thing when you were little didn't you? Considering the fact that you found her again despite the increased gap in rank, I'd say you two might be fated for each other."

Shinichi lifted his head and glared at Agasa's grin. "You know I don't believe in fate and spirits and all those superstitions."

Agasa shrugged and brought over to the table a long, narrow wooden box. Sitting down across from Shinichi, he placed it in between them. "Whether or not you do or do not believe in it, it couldn't hurt to have something nice to give her should you meet up again."

Shinichi wanted to open his mouth and explain again why his chances of running into Ran again were zero, but nevertheless he pulled the box over and opened it. Blinking, he pulled out a long stemmed, red petaled flower. "This is your nice gift? A soon to be dead plant?"

Agasa shook his head, amused by Shinichi's reaction. "Women happen to like flowers as gifts, but that's not why I picked it out. But first, with all your knowledge, tell me the name of that particular blossom."

"Um…" Taking a closer look, Shinichi realized he'd never seen, or even heard of, a plant with flowers like these.

"It's called a rose," Agasa explained when he saw the young man's stumped expression. "I've heard they're common in Europe, but this one," he leaned over to tap the box it had been in, "I found it when I was traveling up north-"

"Some European visitors must have dropped some seeds then," Shinichi interrupted with a shrug, "not that unusual."

"Ah, but this trip was a good twenty or so years ago." Agasa pointed out. "And yet it is as healthy as ever. No water, little sun…It would make the perfect gift because it's a rare flower that your lovely lady friend would be able to enjoy forever." He gave a bit of a smirk, "And it will last a while in your care since you are so insistent that you won't see her again."

"I'm insistent because I know I'm right," Shinichi retorted, while placing the rose back in the box and pocketing it anyways. _Eh…worst comes to worst I guess I could always sell it, especially if it is as rare in Japan as he claims._

"Now are you still going to stay here and mope all day?"

Shinichi shook his head as he stood up. "I heard some rumors that there're quite a few people looking for cheep workers. Maybe I can go earn a bit of money before leaving again."

"My offer still stands for you to stay here."

He shook his head again. "I've gotten used to this life, and if I get out of it, it'll be on my own."

"Oi…as stubborn as ever, Shinichi," Agasa laughed slightly, "but I guess you are old enough to make your own decisions aren't you? Well then, you know you're welcome here whenever you need something."

Shinichi gave a slight bow before heading towards the doorway. "Thanks for everything as always."

Several hours later, Shinichi was walking along the empty alleyways of the city. He'd just been turned down from yet another one of those who'd been looking for extra hired help. He was in the alleyways because a brawl had broken out nearby, and someone had called for the guard to help break it up.

He didn't want to risk being ridiculed or humiliated again.

_This has been far from my best day ever._ Leaning against a wall, he felt something bump against him and he remembered the rose. Pulling it out and opening the lid, he lifted the flower out in order to have a good look at it again. If he didn't know any better, he might have sworn the petal edges were glowing slightly in the dim light of the alley.

_Heh…pretty thing. It really would make a good gift for her._ He frowned slightly as he noticed one of the petals seemed to have a slightly wilted look. _So much for Agasa's 'enjoy forever' theory_, he thought, reaching up to pluck the offending petal away from the others.

Carelessly letting it float towards the ground, Shinichi hardly paid attention to the discarded petal. Even if he had, he would have decided he was seeing things because if the rose had been glowing earlier, it was nothing compared to the radiant glow coming from the petal. Then there was the fact it didn't touch the ground. Instead, it slowed then started floating upwards, growing larger as it did so.

Of course this didn't remain unnoticed forever. Shinichi realized something odd was going on when it was about the size of a child's fist and almost level with his eyes. "What the…I must be seeing things…"

However, rubbing his eyes didn't help at all.

The petal grew a few more inches before disappearing in an even larger puff of smoke, which floated over to obscure Shinichi's vision.

Coughing and trying to wave it away with one hand, he reached his other to his side to draw his katana, just incase this was an attack.

"This is what happens when one isn't unsealed for who knows how long…" a voice muttered from somewhere in front of Shinichi.

Squinting, he thought he saw a grinning face peering through the smoke.

"You the new rose owner? Name's Kuroba Kaito, spirit thief."


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Charries don't belong to me, so sorry Fyl, can't give them to you

Chapter 3

Shinichi stared at the young man in front of him. He was clad completely in white, the clothing style at least a century old. He almost seemed to be hovering a few inches off the ground, but Shinichi reasoned it was simply an illusion caused by the smoke still swirling around their legs and the youth being a few inches taller than himself. The strangest thing however, was that the other's face was nearly identical to his own.

The other seemed to notice this as well and moved forward to peer intently at Shinichi's face. "Now that's interesting," he mused, more to himself. "Descendant? No…I was the only one of my family left…pretty sure at least…maybe one of my future incarnations? Possibly…and makes sense since I'm here it would have been given someone else's soul…"

Narrowing his eyes, Shinichi took a step backwards to put some space between them. "Who are you?" he asked.

The other scratched his head. "Didn't I say already?" He shook his head. "Oi…I've only had a few owners and already things are blending together. Well then, whether I forgot or you just weren't listening, I'm the spirit thief, Kurobo Kaito, at your service.

Shinichi laughed. "Spirit? Nice try, but I don't believe in them." His laughter ceased, "However, based on what you've said, I'm fairly certain I know the true story."

"Oh?" Kaito asked, pulling his legs up to a sitting position, apparently interested in the theory.

Shinichi nodded. "First, you mentioned owners, so you are used to servitude, most likely as a slave or a normal, but poorly treated, servant. In either case, you must not have liked your employer very much, so you ran away. Unable to find work, you turned to thievery and so you wouldn't get caught, you used illusions and peoples' fear of superstitions to make them believe you are a spirit. Such as you are doing now." He swung his katana underneath Kaito, hoping to knock loose the pole or platform that was supporting him.

Kaito smirked as the blade passed underneath him, hitting nothing.

Shinichi blinked in surprise. "Maybe another support…?" He muttered to himself, starting to walk around the levitation figure, randomly hitting at spots, desperate to see through the trick.

By the time he was about to start his third revolution, Kaito rolled his eyes. "Look, am I going to have to break out into a full-fledged magic show accompanied by song and dance to convince you?"

With a glare, Shinichi aimed the flat of his blade towards him, wanting to give him a hard thwap on the arm.

He promptly sat down on the ground in shock when the sword passed through Kaito's torso. "You…you're a real…spirit. But…they aren't…not logical…"

Kaito waved a hand. "Magic doesn't follow logic, so of course spirits aren't logical. Most people accept it, but I guess you're one of those that need to see it to believe it." He leaned backwards, reclining in midair. "Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I guess I should explain the rules to you."

Shinichi stared up at him blankly.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "You seem to worship logic and yet you don't seem to have figured out the situation here." He held up a finger, "First, I'm a spirit thief, can steal pretty much anything." He raised another finger, "Two, I'm connected to the rose," He jerked his head towards where Shinichi had dropped it before lifting one more finger, "And finally, you're the new owner of the rose."

The cogs whirred a bit in Shinichi's mind before it clicked. "So I have my own personal thief?"

Kaito grinned. "Now he gets it. But as I said before, there are rules and limits to this arrang-"

"Forget it," Shinichi interrupted, "Even if you're a spirit and not bound by mortal rules, I cannot bring myself to associate with any type of thief."

"You a lawman or something?" Kaito asked, sitting back up and floating down a few centimeters so he was eye to eye with Shinichi. "The rose's second owner was the captain of the emperor's army, and he found my help to be…well…helpful."

Shinichi scowled. "Probably a power-hungry, corrupt bastard."

Kaito shook his head. "Nope. In fact, the only times he summoned me were to gain information about invaders or potential assassination attempts. Great man...great sense of humor." He frowned. "Sadly enough, he died when the petals were half gone...the rose was kept at his shrine and some pretty nasty men stole it afterwards."

Shinichi didn't bother asking what he meant by 'when the petals were half gone.' He had another concern. "I'm not cursed with you until I die, am I?"

Kaito made a face. "You think of me as a curse? I'm hurt." He shook his head. "But no, you can pass me onto whoever you want. Only whomever owns the rose can summon me, not one person in particular."

"Good. I can dump you with someone else then."

"You sure there's nothing you want?"

"Of course there is. I'm just not resorting to thievery to get it."

The spirit shrugged. "Your decision then. If you change your mind, just pluck a petal off." There was a puff of smoke, much smaller than the first time, and he disappeared. Nearby, the rose glowed faintly for a moment before returning to normal.

Picking himself up off the ground, Shinichi planned on leaving the flower there, now knowing that it wouldn't follow him home, but on second thought he picked it up, knowing he was most likely the only law-abiding person to wander dark alleyways at night.

Hours later, Shinichi continued to toss and turn, unable to sleep. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was sleeping on a pile of mats that had all but a few of their reeds broken, after all, he'd slept on much worse before.

Instead, he was plagued by the spirit's words, 'Can steal pretty much anything.'

_I would never steal anything, even if it was through another person,_ he told himself, _but what if 'steal' is just another way of saying 'get' or 'acquire'? And then what if it's something that doesn't belong to anyone or belongs to me in the first place? It wouldn't technically be stealing now would it?_

He quickly sat up, suddenly wide awake.

_What if he could bring my parents back? Make everything go back to the way it used to?_ Sure there were times he was actually glad his parents were elsewhere, especially where his mother was concerned, but if he ever wanted to accomplish any of his goals in life or be able to do anything with it, he needed to regain his rank and rights. And the only way he'd be able to do that was if he could prove his parents were still alive.

Pondering this, he glanced over near the entrance of the abandoned storehouse where he'd discarded the rose upon entering.

_Could always try some sort of test…see if he means 'steal' in the literal sense of the word. If it doesn't…_

He quickly crawled over to the bloom and picked it up. _How'd he say to summon him? Pluck a petal?_

Moments later a rose petal lay discarded on the ground and Kaito was sitting cross-legged in midair again.

"What were those rules you mentioned?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It took a while before Kaito settled down to explain the rules, thinking it more important to express a few "I knew it"s and "I told you so"s, much to Shinichi's annoyance.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

Eventually, Kaito stopped smirking and settled himself on a cracked, upturned urn in the corner. "Right then…rules. First, as you already know, you can summon me by discarding one of the rose's petals. I'll be able to stay out as long as needed unless you either dismiss me or I steal something for you. You'll be able to do this until all the petals have been used, at which point the rose and I will disappear."

"Disappear where to?" Shinichi asked, curious.

Kaito frowned. "I'm cursed and I'd rather not go into details, alright?" Before Shinichi had a chance to inquire more in-depth, he continued with the rules. "Next, I probably mentioned before that I can steal anything, but that's not entirely true. It has to exist and I have to know where to find it. Even though I can use magic, I'm not allowed to summon things out of mid-air for mortals. Anything belonging to the gods or other spirits, including objects or powers, are also off limits."

Shinichi was about to contradict the presence of the super-natural as usual, but then remembered what he was talking to and chose to keep his mouth shut.

"I also can't steal people's souls back from the dead, hearts for love, or their lives," the spirit continued, "The tools one might need to accomplish those tasks, however, are another story and as long as they fit the other requirements and you perform the task yourself, that's fine." He tapped a finger against his chin, obviously thinking. "I'm certain that's it. Anything else I'll just have to tell you later."

_So it does seem he has limits even without me making them,_ Shinichi realized. _Good…that means I won't have to specify details on some things. But I still want to test a few things before asking about my parents._

"Alright then, 'steal' me some breakfast," he requested. _I'm currently positioned near a market place, but there's also plenty of wild produce nearby even though it's not as close._

Kaito smirked, "A test eh?" He had had to deal with people like this before and was able to now realize when someone was setting him up. "Just so you know, I do try to avoid stealing from others unless it benefits me to do so or I have no other choice. Thieves do happen to have honor and a sense of morals you know, even if we like to bend them sometimes." Once last smirk and he disappeared in one of his puffs of smoke.

Shinichi scowled at the showiness. _Thieves have honor and a sense of morals? I'll believe it when I see it, and spirits don't' count because their perspectives on those matters have to be different than ours._

Kaito reappeared momentarily, holding a teapot and a small bag. "There. Peaches from the tree on the outskirts of this town and tea using hot spring water and the leaves of a tea plant a farmer had discarded." He noticed the questioning look Shinichi gave him. "Don't worry, the plant wasn't diseased or anything, and only old enough for the leaves to have dried."

"Alright. But if I hear anything about missing crops…" Shinichi warned. "Although, care to explain where the teapot and bag came from?"

"Nowhere. Conjured them up," the spirit replied casually as he dropped the bag before summoning up a teacup.

"I thought you said you couldn't summon things out of nothing for mortal use," Shinichi pointed out. _See…already breaking the rules._

Kaito let go of the teapot and cup, leaving them floating in mid-air for Shinichi to help himself. Lifting a hand, he rubbed his chin, obviously thinking. "Guess I should have explained it a little differently," he decided, "If it's what you wanted me to get, I can't summon it out of nowhere. You wanted breakfast, not things to hold breakfast in, so it was perfectly alright to create them." He shrugged. "They'll disappear when you're done with them anyways." He jerked his head towards the floating tea and pointed at the bag of peaches. "Now you enjoy. I have to go back now, even though I'm sure you're _dying_ for my company." He disappeared yet again and the rose glowed dimly for a moment.

"First I find out spirits exist, and then get stuck with a showoffy thief," Shinichi muttered, eyeing the still levitating tea. Sighing, he reached for it and the fruit. _But, food sounds quite good right now…_

Sure enough, the bag, teapot, and cup disappeared as soon as Shinichi was done with them, leaving the left over peach pits and tea dregs sitting in a pile on the floor.

"I'm sure it couldn't have taken that much extra effort to get rid of the leftovers, could it?" He asked the rose, not even sure if Kaito could hear him, as he gathered up the remains so he could discard them outside.

He was about to head back in to gather his things and move on when he heard a familiar voice calling to him. Turning, he discovered Heiji heading towards him. Between the expression on his face and the fact he had bothered to try and hunt down one person in a large town, Shinichi knew something important had happened, whether good or bad.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Heiji panted; obviously he'd been running all over the town since very early morning, "You're a hard person to track down, Kudo."

"Yes…that tends to be one of the traits of someone without a home," Shinichi replied flatly.

Heiji quickly apologized. "Sorry…wasn't thinking." He shook his head. "Anyways…news…" He took a breath to steady himself from the last lingering effects of all the early morning running. "The shogun's dead."

Shinichi blinked. "Dead?"

His friend nodded. "It happened last night. Seems to be natural causes."

"But who's going to take over? He never had a child and the emperor is too busy negotiating with the Western ambassadors to appoint someone new. The last thing our region needs is our neighbors fighting over the land."

Heiji shifted uncomfortably. "That's the problem. _He_ didn't have a child, but do you remember the European woman he'd taken as a concubine several years ago?"

"Yes, but she died soon afterwards. What does she have to do with…" He trailed off as the wheels in his head began turning, and then it clicked. "You don't mean the daughter? It's impossible! She's not Japanese, she's not a blood relative, and she's a woman!"

"It's impossible unless the shogun has anything to say about it."

Stunned silence.

"So you're saying…"

"…that the lat shogun left a decree naming her as his heir?" Yes."

More silence.

"You realize this is not going to end well," Shinichi pointed out.

"Yes, but this might be the opportunity you were waiting for," Heiji told him, expression brightening slightly. "You know how the Europeans are less strict with traditions? That they keep telling us that their ways of running things are better than ours?"

Shinichi blinked, unsure of what his friend was getting at. "And?"

"And with her relaxed views, she might be willing to have your home returned to you!"

Shinichi turned this thought over in his mind. _He's right…what with their different view on things…and if I can get my family's land back…probably safer than being in the streets with the chaos that's guaranteed to rise up soon…_ "Best of all, I won't have to rely on that blasted spirit's help," he muttered happily.

"What?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing."


End file.
